This invention relates to electrical connecting devices which are used commonly to connect a plurality of wires or conductors at one or more electrical junctions. The embodiment of the invention described herein is particularly intended for use in conjunction with electrical connectors of the general type described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,158 dated June 26, 1979 however, other embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following specification.
A wide variety of connecting devices for commonly connecting a plurality of wires are presently available to the industry. One commonly used type comprises an insulating support on which a plurality of metallic junction bars are mounted. The junction bars are provided with clamping screws which serve to clamp the stripped ends of the conductors to the junction bars thereby to connect them to each other. Other types of commoning connectors have terminal receptacles which receive terminals which are crimped onto the ends of the conductors.
Most, if not all, of the presently available commoning connectors require some preparation of the wires which are being commonly connected such as stripping of the insulation and/or crimping of a terminal onto the wire end. Many, if not most, of the available commoning connectors are constructed such that only the ends of wires can be connected at the junction and it is not practical to connect an intermediate portion of the wire to an electrical junction.
The instant invention is directed to the achievement of an improved commoning connector of greatly simplified structure which can be connected to the end of a wire or to an intermediate portion of a wire without preparation of the wire, such as insulation stripping prior to formation of the connection. The invention is further directed to the achievement of a commoning connector which can be connected to the conductors of a cable during the process of manufacturing an electrical harness consisting of one or more commoning connectors and a plurality of other types of electrical connectors.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved electrical connecting device for connecting conductors to each other at electrical junctions. A further object is to provide a connector which does not require preparation of the connector, such as insulation stripping prior to formation of the electrical connection of the wire to the connector. A further object is to provide a commoning connector to which wires can be connected during a harness manufacturing process with the aid of wire insertion tools which simultaneously connect a plurality of wires to an equal number of terminals in the connector. A further object is to provide a connector which can be connected to wires intermediate the ends thereof.